Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The outcry for freedom in Syria and Arab nations is a result of America’s liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan. These are the Biblical times where Jesus said “when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.*”

The DNA of every man and woman is to have freedom, far removed from dictators and communist and even false religions. America is the founder and defender of Freedom around the world as part of its calling. Freedom still works best politically, economically and religiously in any nation given the time. Two thirds of the major nations in the world have declared Freedom because it allows men, individually and collectively, to participate in a better life and society. It’s shrinking our world.

Today even the majority of Muslims would agree with Jesus when He said, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another) humbly in love.*”

Syria is in the midst of birth pains. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, can not hold back his people any more than Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Muammar Gaddaf in Libya or Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia. The people will win because it is predestined from on high. The passion for freedom is a God given desire. The President of Syria can not kill all of his people, any more than the best military in the world...Great Britain could stamp out our American founders and patriots of the revolutionary war.

America has yet to use its greatest secret weapon to deliver the Syrian people that can save their nation for freedom. Our President, nor the UN or the media has yet to offer this approach to bring peace. It was used to bring down Russia and the Eastern block in 1989 and is silently transforming China from the inside out. The same weapon removed Saddam Hussein’s troop from Kuwait in an abbreviated combat called Operation: Desert Storm. It allows our economy to survive during a time of desperation for many American families.

Obviously the answer is prayer. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.*” Americans and The Body of Christ need to pray for the Syrian people, for peace and freedom through the Spirit of the Lord. The American Church and Pastors are called to the Great Commission to reach all nations. Yet the Church is too self absorbed in preaching to the choir instead of calling on Angels and the Holy Spirit to do what they were destined to do.

The Lord is waiting for the church to intercede using the Sword of the Spirit (the word of God) as American soldiers did with their arms, courage and sacrifice. Wake up Church and start praying... too many lives are at stake in Syria and the entire Middle East.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Last summer we took 30
Christian Entrepreneurs and Ministry leaders to the 7,000 sq. ft., 4 story,
ocean home of a former CEO I had had the privilege of coaching and working with
for nearly 10 years.This amazing leader
had taken a $2 million company to $2 Billion in sales in just 15 years.Yes, they went public and they are still a
leader in their industry today.

He is no longer involved and
is not what I would call a dedicated Christian.In fact, his mother dropped him off at an orphanage at 6.They raised him and he is still upset with
God today over that fate.

But he openly shared the
whys, hows, strategies and tactics that allowed the business to grow so fast
against many obstacles.We rapid-fire
drilled him with questions that he answered with humility and wisdom.

At the end of the meeting, we
asked him if and how we could pray for him.He paused and thought and then said, “Yes, for liquidity.”Turns out he invested large sums of money in
two major enterprises, that might not make it, which would put him in big
jeopardy. So we eagerly gathered around him and prayed for God to move on his
behalf.

One morning four months
later, I got a surprise phone call from him. He said, in a very excited voice.“John, PRAYER WORKS ! PRAYER WORKS! One of my big deals sold and I can keep my
house!Thank you so much for praying for
me.No one has ever done that for me
before.I am so thankful. Please tell your members.” Then three
months later, he called again equally excited with a similar story.His second deal was sold and he got out whole
with no losses.Again, he wanted me to
thank the group.

So here is the moral of the
story: I have seen it play out time and time again... God honors Unselfish Prayers for others faster
than prayers for oneself.We are all so
self-centered that we petition for ourselves as our first line of prayers.But when our heart sincerely turns toward the
needs and cries of others, God move more rapidly, when it’s in His will.

The Secret is Intercessory Prayer. The most effective
time in my business has been when I had three intercessors who voluntarily came
to pray during and after our meetings.Its one of the reasons I ask members to pair up in twos to pray for each
other’s needs.When you are praying for
your boss, your customers or fellow workers, it triples your influence with God
through His purposes.

It first honors God to make a
humble and meaningful request, then it honors those in need you are praying for,
and finally it draws you closer to Him and His plan for your life.We all know Prayer changes us, and now you
know the secret to the most effective prayers.Who is praying for you tonight ?James
5:16“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Monday, March 26, 2012

World War IV ? What was WW III ? Well, that was won in the 1990’s when Russia and the Eastern Block fell without any bullets or loss of American life. They collapsed from the economic and military pressure of President Reagan that led them to bankruptcy and the prays of remnants behind the Iron Curtain and here in the states. Our Founding Fathers knew they were given the calling by God to create and uphold the light of Freedom upon a hill for the world to long to know and experience.

Its exciting to see on TV and the internet, the Russian people passionately exercising and expressing their frustrations and praises without the fear of living in the midst of great reprisals. They almost seem like Americans in their demonstrations.

Yet, American finally adopted our Constitution in 1789. It because such a powerful beacon that during our first 146 years some Presidents tried to shirk our responsibility of spreading Freedom. But during that time, 18 other nations including Britain were moved enough to declare Freedom and replicated the American formula from a calling of God that is still changing the world today.

But what is WWIV ? After the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the death of Mao tse Sung, wiser Party leaders saw the hand writing on the “Great Wall” and opened the door for Economic Freedom. With an endless labor pool hungering for work at less than 10% the cost of the American worker, our companies, capital and technology has produced a booming economy in China Today, China is very pregnant from the American Dream, our purchasing power and know how. One Chinese Business tool me that in 2004, 60% of China Economy was based on American consumption. The buying power of a nation of 300 hundred million people was reviving a nation of 1.5 Billion.

Chinese leaders also discovered from America, religious freedom is good and is trying to slowly emulate that process. There is no turn back for China. While Christianity is booming in its Atheistic Society, they realize they must curtain bribes, patent violations and knock offs to fully enter a world economy principally based on Judeo-Christian principles. So in just a few years, the China “Freedom Baby” will be full term and born in the midst of Political Freedom for their society. The key leaders knew once they gave economic freedom and partnered with American companies there would be no turning back.

Communism must die.

So as WWIV is drawing to a close without air cart carriers, air to air missiles , shelling or loss of life through the normal war process, it brings new hope to the world for peace one day.

Yet, the next Chapter has just begun. WWV has started in the Middle East as God used America to shake up the area and prepare for the final War to open the door for His Son’s return. We are being set up by the The Master plan draw the world together by His plan and not ours. Hold tight because there will be more pain, sacrifice, hope and change.

Written by John F. Beehner, Advisor to Entrepreneurs and author of “The Freedom Revolution... Rocking our World”

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

An adventure is any experience involving an uncertain outcome and risk. If we take either uncertainty or risk out of the equation we lose adventure. If all we have is risk but we know the outcome then the end result can be avoided, manipulated or enhanced depending upon on how we feel about it. If we don't have risk, which by definition is the probability of losing something of value, the experience is of little worth because no matter how it turns out you haven't exercised your faith and you have allowed no opportunity to learn or grow.

Is it any wonder that our life as Christians is often referred to as a great adventure? Even though we may ultimately know where we are going to spend eternity it is the road that takes us there that is full of the unexpected and unknown and it is a life in which we are called to risk everything. Jesus knew this adventure. He said of Himself in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost" (HCSB). “Seeking” and “saving” are words that imply adventure. In his final charge to His disciples in Acts 1:8, He said, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The ends of the earth; literally the “remotest” parts of the earth. If that doesn’t describe an adventure filled faith, than what does?

Unfortunately, many people, many Christians, miss out on this ultimate adventure out of fear of misadventure. The dictionary says misadventure is an unfortunate incident or mishap, or it can mean an event that “turns out badly”. Regardless of how misadventure is defined one thing is for sure, we don’t usually find it, it finds us. No one goes looking for it.

Making ourselves more secure against misadventure, however, doesn’t eliminate insecurity; in fact it means we actually have less freedom. When we shelter ourselves in an attempt to avoid misadventure we don’t have freedom, we have a prison. We are essentially telling God, “I don’t trust you, I trust me.” When our need to be secure becomes obsessive then security becomes our idol.

If there is one guy in the New Testament that personifies adventure and misadventure better than anyone it is the Apostle Paul. We can learn much from the way he perceived the circumstances in his life. From the time we meet Paul on the Damascus road his life is one big adventure. Paul is blinded, receives his sight, begins to preach, has to escape Damascus Mission Impossible style and then launches out to fulfill the Great Commission mandate. But just because he was handpicked by God doesn’t mean that his adventure was easy. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Paul says describes his many “misadventures”. He begins by saying (and I paraphrase),

I'm talking like a madman-I'm a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, near death many times. Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans. Once I was stoned by my enemies. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers,dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers; labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and lacking clothing.

Most people would likely quit than undergo all this misadventure. In reality, most people would never undertake the adventure if they knew they would face all that Paul did. The cost is just too great; playing it safe would be far more comfortable. Paul did not see all that happened to him as misadventure, however. Instead, he saw it all as part of the bigger adventure God planned for him. He later recounts his ministry and says, “that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20-21). He definitely saw life with Christ as an adventure to be lived. He was certainly more focused on his perspective than on his circumstances.

Paul understood, and so should we, that no matter what happens or how things turn out, when we live our lives in total obedience and abandon to Him, we always win, that there is really no such thing as misadventure. It is then, and only then, will we be truly free to live out the adventure God has in store for each of us.

Doug Gilmer is a frequent outdoor writer and serves on the Board of Directors for the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Additionally, he serves as a Professor of Adventure Leadership and Outdoor Ministry at Liberty University. He is a frequent speaker, outdoor ministry consultant, and outdoor adventure leader. For more about Doug you can visit www.BackcountryChaplain, follow him on Twitter @DouglasGilmer, or at www.facebook.com/BackcountryChaplain.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Grandpa Walter Witherell labored hard as mechanic in his garage on the intersection of Massachusetts Route 66 at “the flats.” He served as official State Bee Keeper for many years, handling honey bees with no protective gear. Grandma Laura drove the school bus in Hampshire County through several generations of children. As driver, she delivered the Hampshire Gazette all along the rural route.

Of course, at their farm on the hill she cared for the sheep, milked the cows, sold the apples, and boiled the maple syrup into blocks of sugar. Did you ever eat taffy syrup on fresh fallen snow? Most of all, I remember her wood shed, pantry, and incredible full course, wood stove breakfasts.

I benefited from observing their basic daily work and spiritual lives. So united were they, at the end of their lives they naturally died one night apart (Oct. 1968), as had his brother and wife, Earnest and Sadie Witherell.

Both were direct descendants of the early American Puritans in the Witherell, Church, and Blakesley ancestry. They worshiped in the Westhampton Congregational Church reflecting the simplicity of the early Puritans who built the foundations of this nation.

This church the townspeople established in 1779 and first built in 1785. Considered “the finest in the hill towns,” a new church was built in 1816 that burned Feb. 18, 1829, and was immediately rebuilt that year. The first pastor, Enoch Hale served 58 years. He was the dear elder brother to Capt. Nathan Hale, Washington's Revolutionary spy executed by the British (Sept. 22, 1776).

One member, Justin Edwards, in a summer thunderstorm prayed with four friends in the Haystack Meeting (1806) which resulted in the founding of the great American foreign missions movement. He served later as president of Andover Theological Seminary.

One ancestor, Rev. William Witherell, was a pastor so renowned in those early days of the Plymouth Colony, his church roll reflects some 608 baptisms. He served as pastor for 39 years from Sept. 2, 1645, till his death, Apr.9, 1685, at the the Second Church of Scituate, now after some 350 years, First Parish of Norwell.

William was born in 1600 and his mother is purported to be the daughter of John Rogers, the Smithfield martyr. William married Mary Fisher, Mar. 26, 1627, in Canterbury, Kent, England. William and Mary arrived in the Plymouth Bay Colony on board the ship Hercules in 1634. He was placed on the ministerial rolls by Cotton Mather.

The story is reported in the church archives that a young man, John Bryant, had a tendency to arrive late to Sunday service. So at an appropriate time following prayer in the service, the Rev. Witherell turned to address him.

“Neighbor Bryant, it is to your reproach that you have disturbed the worship by entering late, living as you do within a mile of this place. Especially since here is Goody Barstow who has milked seven cows, made a cheese and walked five miles to the house of God in good season” (Fewkes, R.M.).

John Bryant was not too put off by the rebuke. He married Pastor Witherell's daughter, Elizabeth, in 1657.

Even this early story reflects the worship and work heritage of these early Americans. I can't help adding, this very worship and work ethic which built America is under such severe attack by socialism, today. We could lose our national foundations.

Bill Hunt is active on Facebook and writes a Christian blog read as world wide witness at http://www.CornerRetreat.blogspot.com

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A new global freedom marketplace has emerged from the internet. But on the freedom model of mutual trust and free enterprise, it has little policing, no regulators, no taxation system and it remains as open as nations allow.

The Internet is free enterprise in action, and it’s built on mutual trust through prepay tools. Thirty percent of the world’s population claims to regularly use the Internet today. For example, the volume of eBay alone is considered in the top ten of the largest economies in the world and operates in 30 countries.

The Internet drives down prices, as people can cut out the wholesaler and get free samples easily without going to the store. It saves energy costs, allowing people to work out of their homes. It will continually bring down labor and shipping costs. In a down economy, it allows small businesses to find customers in other markets just to survive. It’s definitely a tool that God created through visions given to men at the Strategic Air Command not Al Gore.

Workers in Indonesia, the Philippines and India are helping American companies build web sites and software for as low as 20 cents an hour, while programmers here earn $30-$75 an hour.Now you can see why many people want to immigrate to the USA to work for American companies.Others may cry “foul” for those workers in the Far East.But the truth is that many those same people might otherwise be working in rice fields or living in slums.Yet, these workers are developing a skill and using their God given talents to grow and may eventually starting their internet business, one day.It is raising their standard of living, just look at the Chinese example and explosion, as it trades with the rest of the world.

It’s part of God’s plan for the world to come together and reduce conflict, find mutual respect, and seek the skills and talents in one another. This is the type of activity that reduces war and uses the gifts of entrepreneurs around the world.

God is a God of relationships. He wants to participate in our lives each day to bring the best out of us.Secondly, He wants us to have a kind and loving relationship with our fellow man. That is why the Social Media phenomenon is an extension of Him... men and women having a deeper relationship with each other.The internet is just another tool for that purpose.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I heard one of the funniest stories the other day speaking to a friend. Her son walked into the living room and announced to his parents that as soon as he graduates High School he will move out of the house so that he can do whatever he wants, without supervision. Why is this so funny? Well, first of all because I think all of us when we were teens thought that we wanted to grow up very fast to get to the point of freedom where we would do as we please. In reality, we are all waiting for that moment. As we grow we discovered that that with freedom came responsibility and that it was easier to respond to our parents than to our new authorities: the government, our bosses, our creditors, our spouses and even our children.

Why it’s so easy to rebel at that age? I think ignorance makes us think that we know better than our parents what’s best for us, and we do that with God every single day. This conversation reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son. He asked for his inheritance while his father was living because he wanted to live his life his way. His father allowed him to and what he found was not freedom, but bondage.

In the same way, God as a good father gives us freedom to live our lives, but gives us parameters, boundaries to protect us from getting in trouble. Just like my friend’s son, sometimes we think that we know better than our father, that our preferences and desires are better to follow and that at the end of the day we will be ok. Just like the son, we go outside our boundaries and find ourselves in trouble, and we then wish that we could go back home.

The good news is that just like at the end of that story, God is always awaiting for us with open arms. We then discover that freedom is a great thing, but it’s more enjoyable when we live with within the protection of the boundaries set by God for us. Freedom is awesome and well enjoyed when well used.

Naty Matos was born in the city of New York, from Puerto Rican descendant parents. She grew up in the beautiful Island of Puerto Rico and now lives in the city of Atlanta. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Mass Media Communications and a Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling.

Naty writes Christian fiction and non-fiction. She maintains a blog on Christian Living Topics at www.therisingmuse.com